Tennis racquet strings or strings of similar racquets are subject to being moved out of alignment, particularly where the player has a powerful stroke and hits the ball hard. Upon impact, the strings impacting the ball can move out of alignment and thus the spacing between the strings becomes irregular. It is typical to see world ranked tennis players, for instance, constantly hand moving the strings of their racquets, and particularly the strings of the xe2x80x9csweet spotxe2x80x9d in the central area of the racquet, back into alignment between the times when the ball is in play.
A number of patents and design patents have been issued over the years disclosing and protecting various types of racquet string aligners.
Some of the string aligners have made use of a base or platform supporting a plurality of spaced projections which are formed or sized to be inserted into the spaces between the strings to align the strings. Such arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,864 to Ubl, U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,900 to Harren et al., or U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,181 to Chan.
Other devices for aligning the strings teach a comb-like structure with the spacing of the teeth arranged such that when the teeth are inserted between the strings, any misaligned strings will be pushed back into the proper spacing. This or similar structure are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,429 to Redrow; U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,423 to Short, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,591 to Ho.
While all of the above devices are effective to align the strings of a racquet, none are sufficiently light and portable to be conveniently carried and used by a player during the course of play. Because a player may find that the strings of his racquet are misaligned during a match, he or she may attempt to deal with the misalignment by physically pushing the strings into a desired position with their fingers. This can be difficult and painful. Since prior art alignment devices are, for the most part, too heavy or awkward to carry during play, and perhaps banned from the court during play, there is a need for a simple, lightweight tool which can be carried and used to straighten or align tennis racquet strings during play.
The string alignment tool or device of the present invention comprises a unitary xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d-shaped member in which the top or cross piece of the xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d is essentially a handle and the lower vertically extending tapered portion is a tool for forcing or pushing the strings of a tennis racquet into a desired alignment with other strings. The vertically extending part is smoothly tapered from the handle portion to its lower end, and all edges are smoothed such as to avoid abrading the strings. This unitary part is preferably molded of a suitable plastic material, although it could be stamped, particularly if formed of a metal, such as aluminum.
The string alignment tool is relatively small, lightweight and smooth to the touch. It is, or may be, carried in a molded holster having mating internal contours and which may be carried on a player""s belt. It may also be carried in a pocket formed on a sweat-absorbing wristband where it is reasonably secure and convenient to reach and replace.
It is also convenient for players to simply carry the string alignment tool on a cord passing through the handle portion.
It will be recognized that applicants"" string alignment tool does not function as do those prior art devices that force a plurality of spaced projections through the spaces between the strings; however, it will always be obvious to a player which space or spaces have become widened from impact with the ball, and the aligner is simply inserted into an adjacent space to move the displaced string as required.